Reduction in doe hunting licenses has Carbon County officials upset

Fewer antlerless deer tags allotted in state due to longer season, commission says.

August 10, 2001|By CHRIS PARKER Of The Morning Call

The Pennsylvania Game Commission has reduced Carbon County's allocation of doe licenses, disappointing county officials and hundreds of hunters.

This year, the commission has given the county 4,200 antlerless deer licenses, down from 5,150 last year.

"Our phones are sure to be ringing off the hooks," said Carbon County Treasurer Joe Orsulak, who issues the licenses. He said the licenses sold out Monday, the first day they could be issued.

By then, he had received 6,000 applications. The applications are granted first come, first served, with landowners of at least 50 acres getting first preference.

Carbon isn't the only area county with fewer doe tags. Schuylkill County's allocation is 14,700, down from 17,900. Berks will get 18,400, down from 22,000; Lehigh will get 6,100, down from 7,150; and Northampton will get 7,400, down from 10,000.

Statewide, 780,250 antlerless deer licenses are available, a drop of 50,400 from last year's 830,650.

In a prepared statement, Game Commission Executive Director Vern Ross said the cuts are meant to keep the deer population stable in light of a longer doe season.

"The need to decrease the allocation was based on the increased hunter efficiency in harvesting deer because of the longer season, which gives hunters a greater opportunity in which to use their antlerless deer licenses," he said.

The commission extended doe season this year from three days to two weeks, said spokesman Bruce Whitman. The season will be from Nov. 26 to Dec. 8. The commission also added a special doe season for senior and youth hunters and for those with disabilities or in the armed forces, Oct. 18-20.

Orsulak said that explanation doesn't make sense.

"If you increase the season, you should increase the allocation," he said.

Last year, more than 301,000 antlerless deer were killed in Pennsylvania, 1,619 of them in Carbon County, according to the Game Commission.

Commission biologists hope for a doe kill this year of about 350,000 to reduce the antlerless herd by about 5 percent, the agency said when setting hunting seasons in April.

The state deer population is about 1.5 million, Whitman said.

Orsulak announced Carbon's doe license allocation cut at a county commissioners meeting Thursday.

Given that deer roam, he questioned how the state could grant neighboring Monroe County an increased from 6,000 to 8,000 licenses while cutting Carbon's.

Luzerne County also will get more doe tags this year -- 14,000, up from 10,700.

Carbon Commissioner Charles Getz was astonished at this year's cut in light of what he believes is a plentiful population.

"About a month ago behind my garage I counted 52 deer," he said. "That's the most deer I've ever seen there in my life, and I've lived there all my life."

The number of doe licenses varies over the years. According to the Game Commission, in 1997-98, it allowed Carbon County 5,000 licenses; in 1998-99, the number dropped to 3,700; in 1999-2000, it was 3,700, and in 2000-01 it was 5,150.

Ross said, "While it is unfortunate that Treasurer Orsulak is not pleased with the allocation for Carbon County, we firmly believe that this year's allocation is best for the deer herd and reflects the Game Commission's efforts to properly manage that resource."